I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
James MadisonRead
Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the dangers of allowing any one religious authority to dominate over others, suggesting that it can lead to exclusion and division.
James Madison's quote reflects a critical perspective on the establishment of religious authority, particularly in how one religion or sect can overshadow and marginalize others. It warns against the potential for tyranny in religious governance, where the same power that promotes one belief can easily dismiss or suppress others, ultimately undermining the principles of freedom and diversity of thought that are essential in a pluralistic society.
Themes
ReligionAuthorityFreedomPluralismExclusion
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on religious freedoms among students at a university.
More from James Madison
All quotes →No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time.
James MadisonRead
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have, more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism.
James MadisonRead
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.
James MadisonRead
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
James MadisonRead
The magnitude of this evil among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged, that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it.
James MadisonRead
Similar quotes
There is a point where in the mystery of existence contradictions meet; where movement is not all movement and stillness is not all stillness; where the idea and the form, the within and the without, are united; where infinite becomes finite, yet not losing its infinity. If this meeting is dissolved, then things become unreal.
Rabindranath TagoreRead
What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself.
Roland BarthesRead
The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security.
Thomas PaineRead
All societies on the verge of death are masculine. A society can survive with only one man; no society will survive a shortage of women.
Germaine GreerRead
'Thou shalt not kill' does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings and this commandment was inscribed in the human breast long before it was proclaimed from Sinai.
Leo TolstoyRead
The process of translating comprises in its essence the whole secret of human understanding of the world and of social communication.
Hans-Georg GadamerRead